Suicide attack, firing kill 5, wound 30 in Afghanistan

KABUL, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- The militancy-plagued Afghanistan experienced two violent incidents on Wednesday as five people, including a suicide bomber, were killed and 30 others sustained injuries in its troubled southern region.

A suicide car bombing which rocked Lashkar Gah, the capital of Taliban former stronghold Helmand at 12:30 p.m. local time, claiming the lives of five people including four civilians, a local official confirmed.

"The gruesome incident happened in Lashkar Gah city when a convoy of foreign troops was passing the area, leaving five people including the attacker and four civilians dead," spokesman for Helmand's provincial government Omar Zawak told Xinhua.

He also confirmed that 15 civilians sustained injuries in the deadly blast.

However, he did not provide more details on the foreign forces' possible casualties.

Meanwhile, another official on the condition of anonymity said that one foreign soldier was killed and two others sustained injuries in the attack.

The NATO-led force has yet to issue any statement on the subject.

Helmand, with Lashkar Gah as its capital, has been regarded as Taliban hotbed in the conflict-ridden country.

In a related development which happened in Taliban's birthplace of the neighboring Kandahar province, a man in uniform opened fire on the Public Protection Police Force (PPPF) and injured 15 personnel on Wednesday, a local official Atash said.

"A man dressed in the uniform of the PPPF entered the compound of the body in Daman district at around 09:00 a.m. local time today and opened indiscriminate fire injuring 15 persons," Atash told Xinhua.

The PPPF is a body escorting the logistic convoys of military on the highways including the Kabul-Kandahar highway to reach their destinations in safety.

Militancy and violent incidents have been on rise in Afghanistan since the launching of Taliban outfit's spring offensive in May this year.